Mbappe makes World Cup history with back-to-back Golden Boot awards

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France’s forward #10 Kylian Mbappe celebrates after winning the 2026 World Cup round of 16 football match between Paraguay and France at the Philadelphia Stadium in Philadelphia on July 4, 2026. (Photo by Jewel SAMAD / AFP)

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Kylian Mbappe has become the first player in history to win the FIFA World Cup Golden Boot twice after finishing as the tournament’s top scorer at the 2026 edition.

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The France forward scored 10 goals in eight matches to edge Argentina captain Lionel Messi in the race for the award, adding to the Golden Boot he won at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar with eight goals.

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Mbappe’s latest triumph makes him the first footballer to claim the Golden Boot at back-to-back World Cups.

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The 27-year-old also became the first player since West Germany’s Gerd Muller in 1970 to score 10 goals in a single World Cup. Only France’s Just Fontaine, who scored 13 goals in 1958, and Hungary’s Sandor Kocsis, who netted 11 in 1954, have managed more goals in a single tournament.

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Mbappe further extended his record as the men’s all-time leading World Cup scorer with 22 career goals, one ahead of Messi.

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He moved clear of the Argentine after scoring twice in France’s third-place play-off against England on Saturday, although Les Bleus suffered a 6-4 defeat to finish fourth.

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His tournament haul included two goals each against Senegal and Iraq in the group stage, another brace against England in the third-place match, as well as strikes against Sweden in the round of 32, Paraguay in the last 16—where he converted the winning penalty—and Morocco in the quarter-finals.

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Messi had an opportunity to overtake Mbappe with a hat-trick in Sunday’s World Cup final but failed to score as Argentina lost 1-0 to Spain, ending the tournament with eight goals in eight appearances.

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England midfielder Jude Bellingham and Norway striker Erling Haaland finished joint-third in the scoring charts with seven goals each, while France’s Ousmane Dembele and England captain Harry Kane both ended the tournament with six goals.

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